July 18 (CT) Sri Lanka should not rule out the possibility of using nuclear power in its energy mix, considering the recent advances made in nuclear technology, says Dr. Lakshman Guruswamy, Nicholas Doman Professor of International Environmental Law at the Law School of University of Colorado in Boulder. Guruswamy was recently in Sri Lanka to attend a forum organized by Kadirgamar Institute. more..

July 18 (ST) Hardly a day passes without more proof being added to that much touted advertising blurb which has misled thousands of tourists over the years. True, Sri Lanka is the Wonder of Asia but not for the reasons that brought them rushing to our shores. Time, they thought, was running out to savour them, most of which exist only in the world of make-believe conjured up by tourism promoters and others after foreign moola. The real wonders are often hidden from foreign eyes, more..

July 18 (Island) Police spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera did not sound convincing when he claimed, at a media briefing, that the findings of an investigation into some alleged abductions had led to former Navy Spokesman Commodore D.K.P. Dassanayake’s arrest. He only repeated what some govt politicians have been saying in a bid to have the public believe that the arrest at issue was not politically motivated or timed for UN Special Rapporteur Ben Emmerson’s visit here. more..

July 18 (NS) A group of 396 women whose family members have disappeared have requested the govt to criminalise enforced disappearances. In a letter on Friday, the women said that they had searched for their loved ones and had gone before numerous state initiatives including several commissions of inquiry appointed by successive govts with no answers given or effective steps taken to prevent future disappearances. “After many years of empty promises, we were heartened by more..

July 18 (Island) The ongoing constitutional making process in Sri Lanka has encountered three interest groups representing three broad options in regard to its scope and content. Group 1 wishes the existing 1978 Constitution to be repealed and replaced with a new Constitution that would be so broad in scope and content that a referendum would be inevitable. The second group wishes to limit amendments to the current Constitution to a degree that would avoid a referendum. more..

July 18 (CI) Seeing out Graeme Cremer and staying positive will reverse a little pressure and bring a mammoth 388 target within reach, according to Dimuth Karunaratne. Opener made 49 to help set the tone for the innings. Zimbabwe claimed his wicket and two others with balls that took substantial turn. The delivery that dismissed Karunaratne spun more than any other in the match, hitting the fast bowlers' footmarks and more..

July 18 (CI) On a track that has now begun to produce unplayable balls, Zimbabwe's key to victory on day five will be discipline. So says Sikandar Raza, whose maiden Test century played a pivotal role in transforming the match situation. Zimbabwe are seven wickets away from history, and have 218 runs to defend. Though the overnight pair - Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews - have each produced great rearguard innings before, there isn't much experience to follow. more..

July 18 (Island) The 1981 Ashes series is of fairytale stuff. England lost the first Test at Nottingham and in the second Test at Lord’s captain Ian Botham collected a pair. He stepped down from captaincy handing the reigns to the brilliant Mike Brearley. What happened from thereon as they say is history as Botham bludgeoned the Aussies to help England regain the Ashes. 1981 Ashes is known as Botham’s Ashes. Angelo Mathews is in a similar predicament having stepped down from captaincy more..

July 18 (FT) T. Rowe Price, a global investment management organisation with $861.6 b in assets under management, is upbeat on Sri Lanka’s future prospects and it is walking the talk by doubling exposure in listed equities with appetite for more. Investments in Sri Lanka are via its T. Rowe Price Frontier Markets Fund and Asian Equity Fund, and its Vice President Oliver Bell who was in Colombo last week said the Fund’s optimism more..

July 18 (Island) In spite of President Maithripala Sirisena, Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC, repeatedly denying that a new Constitution or constitutional amendments wouldn’t be brought in at the expense of Sri Lanka’s unitary status or Buddhism, all available documents pertaining to the ongoing constitutional making process had quite clearly proved otherwise, civil society organization yuthukama said. more..

July 18 (LBO) Ceylon Chamber of Commerce says it is their view that the new Inland Revenue Bill, once enacted, should ideally be implemented from 1st April 2018. The chamber says it will give a longer transitional period for both the tax payer and the Department of Inland Revenue to become fully conversant with the provisions of the law. The new Inland Revenue Bill, which was gazetted on 16th June 2017, was tabled in Parliament on 05th July 2017. more..

July 18 (CT) The Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) will carry out a review on Sri Lanka's implementation of money laundering laws, an official of the Paris based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said yesterday. FATF Executive Secretary David Lewis however, didn't say when this review will take place. I will tell you later, he said, in reply to a query. Nevertheless, he said that this review will be done by Sydney based APG. more..

July 18 (CT) Sri Lanka secured a 2-1 victory over Jordan on the first day of the Group III tie of the Asia Oceania Davis Cup by BNP Paribas, played at SLTA courts. In the first single of the Pool 'A' tie, Harshana Godamanna defeated Seif Adas 6-3, 6-2, while Sharmal Dissanayake defeated Mousa Alkotop in the second singles 6-2, 6-4. SL's duo Sharmal and Harshana were defeated by Jordan's duo Hamzeh Al Alaswad and Mousa Alkotop in the doubles tie with scores of 6-4 and 6-5 (retired). more..

July 18 (DN) “There’s 12 more overs with the old ball, and then we get a new ball again. We’ll have to have a chat tonight and see what kind of plan we come up with for tomorrow morning,” said Pothas at the end of the third day. “I’m always a firm believer that what we see on TV is not reality. Unless I get to speak to the boys that are physically out there, we’ll get a better picture. One step at a time, we need to take four wickets, and once we do that, whatever’s set we need to go out and chase. more..

July 18 (Island) Global Sri Lankan Forum (GSLF) has requested the Joint Opposition (JO) to quit the UNP-led constitutional making process. A senior spokesperson for the group said that the JO couldn’t further delay a decision on NFF leader and MP Wimal Weerasansa’s request to discontinue their participation in the parliamentary process. The GSLF in a letter dated July 11 addressed to Dinesh Gunawardena and Udaya Gammanpila, more..

July 18 (Island) Traffic growth in the ports sector is likely to remain well below historical levels for the foreseeable future, due to fundamental structural changes in the industry and global trade. A move towards protectionism would represent a significant additional risk, with the potential to reverse sector growth. Global port traffic growth has slowed in recent years due to a mix of factors. The majority are structural in nature, including the growth of China’s internal market more..

July 18 (DN) Minister Thalatha Athukorale won the Woman of the Year award at the Top 50 Professional and Career Women Awards Sri Lanka 2017 at a ceremony held at the Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo on July 14. International Finance Cooperating Institute presented this award to Athukorale in recognition of the services rendered by her towards the welfare and progress of expatriate workers abroad and the achievements made and services rendered by her. more..

July 18 (DM) Taco Bell, the world’s largest Mexican inspired quick service restaurant chain opened its first restaurant in Horton Place, Colombo 7 yesterday. It is brought to Sri Lanka by Gamma Pizzakraft Lanka, who is also the franchise owners of Pizza Hut and Delifrance in Sri Lanka. With this they expect to fill the void for quality Mexican inspired food in the country as Sri Lanka is looking at expanding its cuisine availability more..

July 18 (FT) Industry veteran Paddy Withana has been appointed as a Tourism Advisor to PM Ranil Wickramasinghe. Previously he was the Chairman of the SL Tourism Development Authority, a position he held since February 2015.  Withana has over 40 years of experience in the leisure and tourism sector specializing in hotel property development, management, and financial controls.  Having graduated from the Ceylon Hotel School in 1970, Withana commenced his career at more..

July 18 (TOI) SL navy apprehended four Indian country boat fishermen and seized their craft on Sunday night on charges of poaching in the territorial waters of the island nation. The boat owner, T Nagur and crew members Chetti, Parthi and Sathi sailed on a country boat from Nambuthazhai in Ramanathapuram district on Sunday morning. A fast attack craft attached to northern naval command arrested the four Indian fishermen while they were engaged in illegal more..

July 18 (DN) Vice Chancellor of the University of Moratuwa Prof. A.K.W. Jayewardene has denied a role in the inhumane killing of dogs and cats at the premises, and instead, blamed a private contractor. “We hired a private contractor to chase away stray dogs and cats but we never asked them to drug and kill the animals,” he said. “It was their decision to sedate, remove and dump the stray dogs and cats,” Vice Chancellor said. more..

July 18 (CT) The Free Trade Zone Solidarity Protection Group (FTZSPG) called on the Govt to enact the recommendations of the report compiled pertaining to the death and injuries to workers during the 2011 protest at the Katunayake Free Trade Zone. The group said, in a press communiqué, that those responsible for the death of the Roshane Chanaka must be punished. Convener of FTZSPG Chamila Thushari claimed that those who sustained injuries must also receive compensation. more..

July 18 (SLA) 26th death anniversary of one of the most remembered War Heroes in contemporary times, late Corporal Gamini Kularatne of 6 Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) who paid the supreme sacrifice on 14 July 1991 to prevent an enemy bulldozer ramming into the Elephant Pass garrison was commemorated on Friday (14) at the monumental Gamini Kularatne’s memorial at Elephant Pass. Commemorative event, organized by 66 Division and the 662 Brigade more..

July 18 (EN) Finance ministry was left with excess cash in February 2015 allowing its overdraft to be slashed and treasury bills retired when the controversial bond auction took place, Deputy Treasury Secretary Sajith Attygalle said. There was no sudden requirement for cash when settlement of bonds were made on March 2, he said. Earlier, claims had been made that more bonds than advertised were sold on Feb 27, 2015 under more..

July 18 (HCI) India and Sri Lanka signed a MoU to develop Most Ven Maduluwave Sobitha Thero Village (Elapathagama) in Anuradhapura District on July 14.  MoU was signed by Taranjit Singh Sandhu, High Commissioner of India to SL and Mrs. W.K.K. Athukorala, Secretary to the Ministry of Housing and Construction in the presence of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. Venerable Monks from the Mahasanga, former First Lady Mrs. Hema Premadasa, several MPs, senior Officials from Govt of SL, more..

July 18 (FT) Economist-turned Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha De Silva last week called for a change in attitude from the people of Sri Lanka in order to overcome the challenges facing the nation, arguing for a shift in thinking from a culture of entitlement to one of innovation and entrepreneurship. Delivering a passionate monologue in response to a question at a panel discussion on the benefits of the GSP Plus trade concessions, Dr. De Silva said that SL youths were predisposed to a sense of entitlement more..

July 18 (IMF) On July 17, 2017, the Executive Board of the IMF completed the second review of Sri Lanka’s economic performance under the program supported by a three-year extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. Completion of the review enables the disbursement of the equivalent of SDR 119.894 million (US$ 167.2 m), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement more..

July 18 (Island) Investigations by Mirihana Special Crimes Operations Unit have revealed that underworld kingpin Lasantha Perera alias Angoda Lokka, who is currently serving a jail term in India, uses a mobile phone to run an extortion racket here. The underworld character has made calls to several rich businessmen and threatened them with death if they don’t part with money. He has ordered his thugs to harass the businessmen who do not obey his orders, police investigators say. more..

July 18 (Reuters) SL's economy will rebound in coming months as the island nation begins to rebuild after devastating floods, and it could still expand by 4.5 to 5% for the full-year, central bank Governor Indrajith Coomaraswamy said. CB had earlier estimated 2017 growth at 5%, higher than last year's 4.4%, before the floods and landslides in May that killed more than 200 people and hit the agricultural sector hard. In contrast, some main agriculture areas have suffered from severe drought more..

July 18 (Island) Deputy Secretary to the Treasury S. R. Attygalle, testifying before the Commission of Inquiry, probing the alleged bond scams, said that as far as he knew there had been no instance where the Finance Minister directly wrote to the Central Bank Governor, informing the latter of govt’s additional fund requirements. Attygalle said so in answer to a question raised by Senior State Counsel (Mrs.) Shahida Bari. more..

July 18 (DM) Cricket lovers in Sri Lanka might not be happy with the clash between the two legends of the game, former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Minister Arjuna Ranatunga. They are indirectly levelling serious allegations against each other, which if proved, would definitely ruin their hard earned reputations. Raising a question on the 2009 Tour of Pakistan where the players had to face a horrendous terrorist attack, Sangakkara for some reason first called for an inquiry into more..

July 18 (DM) Ben Emmerson, the UN special rapporteur on counter terrorism and human rights, who visited Colombo last week criticized Sri Lanka for the slow pace of the transitional justice process and warned that the international community was running out of patience. He demanded that the govt repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act, but also insisted that the proposed counter terrorism legislation that was meant to replace the PTA should do away with admissibility of confessions to more..

July 18 (DM) SLFP General Secretary and Minister Duminda Dissanayake spoke about the party’s future in the wake of attempts by a section of its members to leave the Unity Govt together with the UNP.  Q: A group of SLFP MPs has decided to quit the govt. President Maithripala Sirisena has asked them to remain till Dec 31, 2017. Why is this? A: We joined hands with the UNP to govern the country for two years in conformity more..

July 18 (DN) Highlighting the issue of chronic delays and archaic procedure within the Justice system, the Fundamental Rights petition filed by Naomi Coleman, Britisher who was arrested for adorning a Tattoo of The Buddha, was postponed close to a dozen times, after Judgment was reserved on June 10, 2015. Case was re-fixed on July 4, 2017, for argument on Oct 26, 2017. Case which drew international more..

July 18 (CT) Last Thursday Co-Cabinet Spokesman, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, addressing the Cabinet media briefing, said that the Anti-Corruption Secretariat had not delivered on its promises. This was in response to a question which was raised regarding extending the Anti-Corruption Secretariat's term which expired on 30 June. The govt spent Rs 65 million on the secretariat, but we have not seen it achieve much, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said. more..

July 18 (SL) A top Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Board official is allegedly behind the order given last week to force temporary staff, employed to work at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Sooriyawewa, to remove and return their pants to get paid. SLC sources also said that while Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera had publicly stated that an investigation will be conducted on the incident, no action is expected to be taken. more..

July 18 (ST) Killer dengue, with more infectious and more fatal strains, is creeping along snuffing out unsuspecting lives while the Govt is hopelessly staring in the face of 100,000-plus infections, although Health Ministry reported 90,865 cases. Next peak season, from October onwards, is also fast approaching. News about the dengue crisis is also spreading in world capitals including London, where travellers are being warned. more..

July 18 (Island) All multi-day fishing vessels would be provided with E-Log books/Tab Computers to enter fish harvest information, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. The ministry had taken steps to provide E-Log Books as a measure to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, he said. 2,328 multi-day fishing vessels would be provided with E Log Books. Total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs. 78 million. more..

July 18 (EN) Foreign buying of Sri Lankan stocks on the Colombo bourse in the first half of 2017 had doubled to Rs 62.6 billion from the same period in 2016, the CSE announced. It was an all-time high for foreign purchases in the first half of a calendar year, it said in a statement. “Growth in foreign activity is certainly encouraging and goes on to indicate that foreign investors have identified an opportunity in SL stock market,” more..